In Memoriam: Lillian (Hirasawa) Kurahara '44

Lillian (Hirasawa) Kurahara '44, Hon. ’07, died April 24, 2022, at age 97.

Kurahara spent most of her life in the Hood River Valley, leaving to attend Pacific University at age 17. Her chemistry studies were interrupted during her sophomore year, in 1942, when she and her family were forcibly removed to the Pinedale Detention Center, then Tule Lake Incarceration Center, then Heart Mountain Incarceration Center, due to Executive Order 9066.

“It was such a wonderful start to the year,” Kurahara recalled in a 2017 interview with Pacific magazine. “I was thinking everything was wonderful, then kaboom.”

At Tule Lake, she became an assistant teacher and also met her husband, Jan Kurahara of Sacramento, Calif. They married on March 7, 1942, and were happily married for 66 years. They returned to the Hood River Valley after the war, where they raised a family and worked in her family orchard, which had been cared for by neighbors during their absence.

Kurahara later became an assistant librarian at Wy’east High School, then went to work at a local radio station, where she wrote commercials, kept the station books and hosted a weekly 15-minute program, Notes for My Lady, that catered to the homemaker. She later spent more than 15 years as deputy assessor in the Hood River County Assessor’s Office.

After retiring, Kurahara enjoyed traveling, cooking, and entertaining family and friends. She also volunteered at the Hood River Museum and Providence Hospital gift shop, and made countless crafts for Happy Hands. 

In 2007, Kurahara and fellow student Yukie Katayama Sumoge, who also was interned, were granted honorary degrees by Pacific University, though Kurahara was unable to attend the ceremony. In an interview at the time, she said she recalled kindness from fellow students, including her sisters in Kappa Delta Sorority who gave her gifts of furniture and books.

“You couldn’t be bitter,” she said. “Life is too short to bear grudges.” But, she added, “I hope it doesn’t happen again.”

Kurahara was preceded in death by her husband, Jan, and sister Mary. She is survived by her children, Jan Jr. (and Carole), Ron (and Peggy) and Karen (and Larry); grandchildren, Kris (and Mike) Van Dooren, Ron (and Cyndee) Kurahara, Jon (and Kim) Kurahara, Stephanie (and Kevin) Boehm, Melanie King, Melissa (and Matt) Nishio, and Scott Kurahara; and numerous great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. 

Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021